


The Superior Kind

by emionyx



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-10
Updated: 2013-02-09
Packaged: 2017-11-28 18:58:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/677778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emionyx/pseuds/emionyx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The light of day is only so lasting. Before too long the darkness of night takes over, and it is then when the real test begins. Can your heart stay true and strong, or will you fall and shrink back into the empty black shadows?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Superior Kind

The change of seasons was something that Lucy always loved. Especially when the hot, rainless summer days turned into chilly fall nights. Leaves were already beginning to fall and gather around Lucy's feet as she walked to the student parking lot. Her keys were clutched tight in one hand, while her other kept her backpack in place on her shoulder. Her forest green cardigan fluttered around her sides in the brisk breeze while her natural red hair whipped rhythmically.

Some of the other kids liked to hang out in the parking lot after their last class and talk to their friends about their plans for the weekend and what not. Normally Lucy would stop and engage in these conversations, but her sister was returning from college for the weekend, and she wanted to get home as soon as possible.

With her windows rolled down, Lucy pulled out of the student parking lot. Her Marina and the Diamonds CD was turned up and she sang along all the way back to her house.

1508 Old Willow Lane.

That was home. Lucy's car hummed as it came to a stop in the driveway; she pulled her keys from the ignition and headed for the front door.

The Williams' house was one of five on the Old Willow Lane culdesac. It was a redbrick, one story house with a two car garage; and it had looked the same ever since Lucy and her sister were little.

Though, after her sister left for college, the house became increasingly lonely. With divorced parents, and a mom who worked a lot of overtime, it was mostly just Lucy and her cat, Vicky.

However on the same culdesac lived Lucy's best friend. The kind of best friend that Lucy used to play dress up with, and ride bikes with. The best friend who knew everything about Lucy, and even came to family reunions and events. Her best friend who was classified as "the 3rd daughter" of the Williams' family. The one best friend who shared a promise, a promise that they would never ever become strangers. No matter how far apart or how different they became, they would always be best friends.

And then high school happened.

They became the best friends who only saw each on the weekends, because they didn't have any classes together. The best friends who were part of different extracurricular activities. They didn't go to homecoming together, like they said they would. They had different lunch times, different groups of friends, different lives. And it saddened Lucy to know that they were graduating in the spring. Graduating, and going their separate ways.

Charlene Locklear had always lived in the gray brick house on the Old Willow Lane culdesac. But next year, she would be living in dorm room at The University of California. She would pack up her things move from the one place she'd lived her whole life. All eighteen years of her life on the Old Willow Lane culdesac, and next fall she'd be in a state that they'd only ever seen on television.

Lucy Williams, color guard and debate team captain, and Charlene Locklear, 1st string pitcher for varsity softball, were indeed the most unlikely of best friends.

Lucy's room was a mess like usual. Her trash bin was overflowing, dirty clothes rested on top of her dresser, her bed was unmade, but she didn't clean it because she was certain of one thing. Charlene's room looked the exact same.

From Lucy's window she could see the gray brick house which her best friend lived in. Unlike Lucy her parents were still married. Her mom was a stay at home with Charlene's little sister, Winifred. Or, Winnie, for short. And Mr. Locklear was a sheriff who worked the night shift mostly. A happy family, really.

Lucy watched as a black Ford Focus turned onto Old Willow Lane. It's newly replaced wheels came to a stop in front of her house. A brunette girl emerged from the car, and smiled when she saw her sister looking at her through the window.

"Come help me with my bags Luce!" She called, opening her trunk.

"How many bags do you need? You're only staying through Sunday." Lucy met her sister barefoot at the curb.

"Well, you know how it goes. I have a bag with all my clothes, a bag with my toiletries, one with my computer and charger, and another with all of my books." She laughed.

Lucy reached for the one with the books, "Shocker. This one is the heaviest, should've put money on it."

"I've got some big tests next week, got to study." She handed Lucy another bag to carry and closed her trunk.

"So you drive all the way down from your University to do some studying. Makes sense Anna, a whole lot of sense." Lucy joked.

"Oh, c'mon Luce. We'll do some fun things." Anna assured her as they walked into the house.

"Like what?"

Anna stopped to think, "How about a movie night?"

Lucy dropped the bags in Anna's room. It had looked the exact same ever since Anna's senior year. Same pastel pink walls, same shag carpet, same Doctor Who poster on the wall. Lucy was surprise Anna didn't take that one to college with her.

"Sure, movie night sounds great." Lucy was glad she was going to be able to actually do something with Anna. Normally when she came to visit it was around the holidays, so there wasn't much time for just the two of them to hang out.

"Do you want to call Charlene and see if she wants to join?" Anna suggested, offering Lucy her cell phone to use.

"Softball team has a scrimmage today." She mumbled.

"Well surely the scrimmage ends at some point. We'll be here all night, tell her to come over when she's home."

"I would, but then the whole team is having a sleepover. It's something they do at the beginning of each season."

Anna shrugged, "I'd hate to be the house hosting that party. Can you imagine having that many girls over all at once?"

"That's one reason I didn't join softball."

"I don't think that was the main issue." She laughed, "Face it Luce. You're not the most athletic."

"Oh, and tell me more about how athletic you are, Babe Ruth. I'm captain of the color guard team, which takes some athletic skill." She boasted.

Anna shook her head and smiled, "Okay, you win. Now, what movie do you want to watch?" She rummaged through the DVD collection, "We've got comedies, thrillers, dramas, and a couple of good romance movies."

"Ugh, none of those please." Lucy groaned, "I can't stand romance movies."

"Since when?"

"Since forever."

Anna rolled her eyes and continued looking. She eventually pulled out Titanic and waved it at Lucy. "I love this one, and it's more than just a romance."

"Fine. But we're muting it when that dumb song comes on."

"What song?"

"You know, that one. Talking about how her heart will go on or some crap like that."

Anna giggled, "Heaven forbid you ever fall in love." She put the movie in the DVD player and then took a seat next to Lucy on the couch with the remote.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, mom said she'd be home pretty late tonight. She took a double shift again. She said there were some microwave meals in the freezer, or she left us some cash to order pizza."

"Pizza it is. Why does she even give us an option?"

Lucy shrugged, "Beats me."

Having a Pizza Hut down the road defiantly had its advantages. Getting pizza delivered only took 15 minutes, maximum. When it came, the girls didn't waste any time making themselves a plate. The box was almost gone not even 20 minutes into the movie.

By the time the credits were rolling both girls were asleep. Lucy had fallen asleep right after the ship split in two, and Anna dozed off just as the rescue boat came for Rose.

To their unknowing the time was passing quickly and it was reaching about midnight. The television played an annoying loop of the title screen, and the leftovers from their dinner were still sitting on the coffee table.

Their mother always got mad whenever they fell asleep without cleaning up. And their mother really hated it whenever they fell asleep with the TV on. She said it would wear the DVD player out and burn an image onto the screen. How much of that was true Lucy and Anna didn't know, and frankly didn't care too much.

The TV continued its loop, showing the faces of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet while playing the Celine Dion song in the background. A few times the DVD would skip, causing an odd sounding break in the music.

At one minute passed midnight the old grandfather clock they had in their dining room struck, waking only Anna. She stretched her arms above her head and let out a long yawn. She looked over at her sister, unmoved by the clock, and placed a blanket over her. She gathered their empty plates and used napkins and carried them to the waste basket. And after she then put at coaster underneath Lucy's half full water glass, figuring that she might want it later.

The remote had gotten wedged in between the couch cushions. Anna tried to be undetectable while she dug for it, but she couldn't reach the remote without disturbing Lucy in some way. As she was making her way to the television to turn it off by hand she noticed something strange. The song had stopped, but the picture was still clear. The room was absolutely silent, just the faint sound of Lucy's breathing. Anna then grew more curious as the picture began to fuzz. The screen soon turned into nothing but static, yet still made no noise. She pressed the off button and the screen faded to black like normal. She then ejected the disc and put it back in its case.

Lucy squirmed around on the couch in her sleep before resting in another seemingly uncomfortable position. Anna couldn't help but to look at her sister and think how it seemed like just yesterday Lucy was all nervous for her first day of high school, and now she was getting ready to graduate.

Anna's thoughts were followed by a yawn, and then the faint sound of static coming from the TV. She turned around to see that the television was still turned off, but the fuzzy screen was slowly coming back. Anna normally wasn't one to get freaked out about things, but when the static continued even after she had unplugged the TV, an unsettling feeling resided.

"What are you doing?" Anna let out a small shriek, jumping from her place by the TV. She turned around to see her mom, who was holding her purse and coat. "Sorry, honey. Didn't mean to scare you." She gave her mother a hug, "It's so good to see you."

"It's good to see you too." Anna released from her mom's embrace, "Luce and I were watching a movie, and both ended up crashing."

"So what are you still doing up?"

"The clock woke me." Anna sighed, "Hey mom, the TV keeps making this static like noise." By now the noise was nothing more than a low buzzing sound, but still noticeable at the least.

"I don't hear anything darling."

Anna could still clearly see the black and white static on the screen, "You don't see that?"

"See what?" Ms. Williams stared straight at the TV, raising an eyebrow. "Why'd you unplug it?"

"Because of the static." Anna confessed, not understanding a single thing.

"Anna, there is no static." She laughed and pressed the back of her hand to her forehead as if to check for a fever, "Why don't you go on to bed, you must've had a long week."

Anna didn't argue. She found her way into the bathroom where she washed her face and brushed her teeth, then pulled her shoulder length hair into a bun on top of her head. Her contacts became replaced with her silver rimmed glasses that sat on her long nose. She pulled on her favorite pair of pink silk pajamas and crawled into bed. She didn't even have time to think about the static on the television again before she fell asleep.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Charlene Locklear pulled into her spot in the driveway the next day it was already almost noon. The softball girls had kept her up most of the night, something that she didn't often do. It exhausted her. Charlene couldn't wait to get inside and take a nap, and the weather was perfect for a day under the covers, cold and rainy. She still had on her jersey, which displayed her last name and team number on the back, and her old gym shorts which sagged below her knees. Her cleats were thrown over one shoulder while her softball equipment bag was rested on the other as she walked into the house. Her mother, as usual, was seated in the living room with the home makeover show on. She had a cup of tea in her hand and smiled as Charlene entered.

"How was the sleepover?"

Charlene sat her items down, "Tiring."

"You look it." Her mom got up from her place, "Why don't you go rest and I'll wash your uniforms." She picked up the softball bag and removed all of Charlene's required clothing for her games. "Oh, and bring me down what your wearing when you change, okay hun?"

Charlene nodded as she climbed the stairs to her bedroom, her mother already starting the first load of laundry.

She normally didn't pack an overnight bag for these sleepovers. Since they happened right after practice and they generally always stay up half the night. Plus, the host moms practically had anything anyone needed anyways.

Charlene pulled her clothes off once she was concealed in her bathroom. Nothing made her mom more furious than when dirty clothes were left lying around, but she chose to take a shower first. With the water as hot as it could go, she jumped in immediately.

Charlene had a bad habit of forgetting her slide guards. Not wearing these resulted in bruises that formed on her upper thighs, the team liked to call them "strawberries." Her knees were also covered in scrapes and bruises, along with her elbows and hands. The soap stung the open abrasions as she cleaned them, and the bruises were sore to the touch. Once she sat down the soap, her tanned face and long waved blonde hair were the next things to get washed.

After cleaning everything she let the water beat against her face. The hot water felt like heaven against her sore body. She closed her eyes and began to zone out, almost falling asleep. Her stomach rumbled, and she remembered that she hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday. All of the junk food that was served after the scrimmage wasn't ever appealing to Charlene. But she didn't feel like moving from her place in the shower to fix her need. Not food, not her bed, not even knowing that her mother was waiting downstairs for the rest of her dirty clothes seemed like a good enough reason to get out of the steaming shower.

The steady rhythm of the water repeated over and over in her mind. It evolved from the sound of falling drops to the sound of drums. She kept her eyes sealed tight. In her head the pounding of the drums grew louder and louder, until it was the only thing she was aware of. Not even the streams of water from the shower could she feel on her skin anymore.

She felt distant, like maybe she wasn't really even in her shower anymore. This feeling became stronger and stronger, but she couldn't bring herself to open her eyes. She remained still, the drums beating loudly, the darkness from her closed eyes everlasting.

Her conscious mind was awake, but Charlene couldn't help but feel like she was asleep. She could feel her heart rate begin to increase as she came to realize that her eyes would no longer open by her command. They stayed shut, no matter how hard she tried to release them.

The drums than began to fade just as they had come, leaving the space nearly silent.

So it begins once more.

Darkness and light struggle yet again. 

She was unable to respond.

Which will you pick?

Choose wisely.

Suddenly a burst of light filled her eyes. Her shower walls came back into view, the beating drums were gone. And so was that voice, what was that? 

It took her a few moments to realize that she was positioned on the shower floor, and her mother had turned off the water and wrapped her in a towel.

"Charlene, are you alright?" Her mother was obviously panicked, "Charlene, darling, can you hear me?"

Her mothers hands felt cold as she pressed them against Charlene's face. She nodded her head in response to her mother's question.

"Oh thank goodness." Her mother helped her stand, "You must've gotten over heated and passed out. Have you been drinking enough water? And when was the last time you had something to eat?"

She shrugged unknowingly.

"Oh, Charlene." Her mother breathed, "Here." She led her back to her bed, "Why don't you lie down until you feel better. When you're ready, get dressed, and come down stairs and I'll have some lunch ready, okay?"

"Okay."

She rested on her bed for a good chunk of time. Her mother by this point was probably done fixing her something to eat and was waiting for her to appear downstairs. Her head hurt, and she couldn't seem to find the energy, or desire, to get up and exchange her towel for clothes. Instead she remained wrapped in her towel, her eyes becoming dreary as she drifted into sleep.

She stayed still as the pounding of the drums slowly resounded in her head. They never got extremely loud, but that voice. That voice, it came back.

You've been connected. 

Even though Charlene had all of the questions in the world to ask, her voice was nothing.

Fear should not stop you, after all fear really isn't anything. Is it? 

Fear is an excuse. 

When Charlene awoke there was a damp towel placed on her head, and a tray with some soup that was set on her nightstand. She slowly sat up in her bed, still holding her towel in place. Her feet brushed some clean pajamas and undergarments that her mom had set at the foot of the bed. She discarded her towel and changed, still drowsy with a headache. Just as the thought of pain relievers popped into her head, she noticed where her mother had set her out some already. A note was placed next to them and read, 'Only if you really need them'

Charlene's mother had always been extra careful when giving her and her younger sister medications. Next to dirty laundry it was the big thing she raved on and on about. She'd always say, "Always check twice to make sure you have the right dose." Or, "Never take two medications at once, just don't do it." But right now Charlene didn't care, she was going to take the pain killers, and take more later if she needed too.

She only finished half of her soup before taking the bowl downstairs and washing it out. Her mother was placed on the couch once more, this time with one of those criminal investigation shows on.

"Feeling better?" Her mother asked, motioning for her to sit down.

Charlene nodded, "Thanks for the soup."

Her mother smiled, "Not a problem deary. I called the doctor, he said you were probably just dehydrated and worn out. But I guess we already knew that." She ran her hand through Charlene's hair, "How's your head?"

"I have a headache, but I took those painkillers you left out."

"Okay. Why don't you go grab some water and go rest? I'll be up there to check on you in a little bit." She smiled once more.

Before exiting the room Charlene heard something strange. Something like, static. She curiously looked at her mother, then back at the television. Sure enough, the screen was filled with black and white fuzz.

"What is it Charlene?" Her mother inquired.

"The TV." she pointed, "It's full of static."

Her mother hurried back to Charlene's side, "Honey, let me walk you upstairs. I don't think you're feeling too well."


End file.
